Public Safety Services

Fire truck and police car

COVID-19 Announcement from Cedar Falls Public Safety

Cedar Falls Public Safety Update, March 17, 2020: To help lessen the risk of COVID-19, the Cedar Falls Public Safety Building will be limited to public access until at least April 10. No rental or commercial inspections will be done during this time. There will be no fingerprinting or property pick up as well.

Cedar Falls Public Safety is taking additional precautions to keep the public, as well as our employees, safe during this COVID-19 emergency. Public safety personnel have been provided with protective masks and gloves. Response vehicles and uniforms are thoroughly disinfected as needed as a precaution against the transmission of COVID-19. The Consolidated Dispatch Center (911) is also using a protocol to identity potential symptoms of COVID-19.

In order to help prepare our personnel for calls, you should expect that Black Hawk County Dispatch will ask additional questions on your situation. As an extra precaution, our emergency personnel may practice social distancing when possible while responding to calls.

You can also now report crimes online at www.cedarfalls.com/1533/Report-a-Crime. The online submission form allows for the reporting of crimes such as credit card fraud, harassment, theft, and minor vehicle accidents on private property. It is not for emergencies or crimes in progress. In an emergency situation always call 911.

Visit https://www.blackhawkcovid19.com/ to stay updated on COVID-19 in our county and also follow the Cedar Falls, Iowa, City Government Facebook page and www.cedarfalls.com/prepare for city announcements.

Thank you for your support as we work to keep our community safe.

Mission


The mission of the Cedar Falls Public Safety Department is to enhance the quality of life, safety, and security of our community.

What is the Public Safety Model?


The Cedar Falls public safety model is a cost-saving, collaborative effort from our Fire and Police Divisions to more effectively provide security in our community. Our officers are cross-trained between the two departments so they are able to perform both police and fire duties. Public Safety Officers may be assigned to either fire or police; however, they are trained and able to do both jobs when needed. Since serious fire calls in Cedar Falls have dropped 60 percent in the last 40 years, we need to better utilize the downtime between calls and more effectively use city tax dollars.
Learn more about the Public Safety Model



Cost Comparison: 
Public Safety Model vs. Traditional Model

The advantage of the Public Safety Model is that it provides more police officers on the street and more fire fighters responding to fires at a lower cost than the traditional model. In order to provide the same increased staffing levels under the traditional model would cost nearly $2,000,000 a year more in payroll. The Public Safety model averaged 15.1 fire fighters per day in 2018. In previous years the traditional model had a minimum staffing of 6–7 fire fighters. Police have also seen an increase in staffing and will soon have 2–3 more officers per shift.

Traditional vs. PS model chart

Accomplishments & Goals

Click on the link to read about the accomplishments from July 1, 2107 through December 31, 2018. and goals for January 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020.

2018 Statistics Released

We've released the 2018 Statistics.  Crime Drops 7.8 %. 

Follow Cedar Falls Public Safety on Facebook!

To keep up to date with current events and news related to Public Safety Services, look us up or "like" us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CFPublicSafety. (You do not have to have a Facebook account to view this public Facebook page.)